Lemonade from lemons
While cleaning up some of my brewing equipment, I noticed the water getting colder and colder. Out of propane! I called the company, took Monday off to wait for the guy, then decided it'd be a great excuse for some sourdough!
I refreshed my starter with some locally grown and milled whole wheat bread flour. I decided to do the basic Pain au Levain in Bread Alone [1], with the addition of a bunch of fresh rosemary I had in the fridge.
The dough is about 20% whole wheat. I was going to do baguettes, but I changed my mind and went for one, epic, 4lb miche. A 2.5 hour initial rise, followed by a 2.5 hour proof in a banneton yielded this beautiful thing (click the pictures for bigness). Look at his majesty, filling up that peel!
It came out of the oven and talked to me for a while, the crust crackling and snapping as it cooled. Flavor was excellent. Not super-tangy, but very pleasant. Crumb is nice and soft, crust is good and chewy.